General News

Nomination Forms for the positions of Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer are now available in the Club Office and behind the Bar.

Completed Nomination Forms for the above Honorary positions must be returned to the Club Office or placed behind the Bar no later than Monday, 19 November 2018 at 2.00 pm .

Nomination Forms for the positions of Council Members are now available in the Club Office and behind the Bar.

Completed Nomination Forms for the above Council positions must be returned to the Club Office or placed behind the Bar no later than Friday, 30 November 2018 at 2.00 pm .

NB: The Proposer and Seconder must be Members with voting rights (Honorary, Ordinary, Senior Members, 25-30 Adult Male and 18-24 Adult Male), and you must ensure that you have the Nominee's permission.

Summer is well and truly behind us but thankfully the relatively dry autumn has helped us to extend the season.

The course has been in great condition this year, which is thanks to careful planning and the hard work of the staff and Greens Convenor.

To keep the course playable through the winter and to ensure we prepare well for next season Council has agreed an autumn and winter maintenance and improvement programme. In addition to the normal greens and fairway maintenance programme, work will be carried out on bunkers, paths, drains, woodland areas and sanding of the fairways.

The end of the golfing season for the Ladies of County Armagh Golf Club has been traditionally marked by the Past Lady Captain's competition. This year, past Lady Captain, Gail Steed, opted to run a modified 4 Ball team “classic” with a shotgun start, as this format had proved very popular when Una Cullinane used it last year

Past Lady Captain Gail Steed was delighted with the turnout of 19 teams who took part in the competition. Gail thanked last year's Captain Richard Stewart and past Lady Captains Una Cullinane, Audrey Kellet, Flo McCall and Barbara Hamilton who had done so much to help organise and run the classic. She also expressed her appreciation of the support which had been given by the Men's Branch and thanked Paula McCrory for doing the cards. The water bottles for the goody bags were generously sponsored by Eileen Stewart of Armagh Business Centre.

Gail added that the course was in tremendous condition despite the necessary autumn treatment of the greens. While many complained about difficulty finding the pace on the greens, this was not reflected in the scores of the winning teams.

As most of the teams playing comprised of Ladies two prizes were awarded to them along with one for the best men's and mixed teams. In addition, prizes for longest drives and closest to the pins were provided, as well as some spot raffle prizes, thanks to the generosity of the past Lady Captains.

A COLOURFUL HISTORY AND GREAT LOVE OF THE GAME

Set in the magnificent Georgian palace demesne of Archbishop Robinson with panoramic views of the historic city and its surrounding countryside, County Armagh Golf Club is surely one of the most picturesque golfing locations in Ulster.

Freestanding oaks, chestnuts, beech trees and ash trees line the impressively manicured fairways, with strategically placed bunkers leading to superb greens, many of which are defined by lush floral displays which blossom beautifully in spring and summer. And let's not forget Armagh's two stunning Cathedrals, which provide a truly enchanting backdrop to any round.

County Armagh Golf Club is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and it has been a memorable few months for a club that combines a colourful history with a great love of the game and an admirable community spirit.

As part of its ongoing 125th anniversary celebrations, County Armagh Golf Club granted members and visitors a rare opportunity to vie for the Centenary Obelisk Trophy on 25 August, when there was no shortage of hopeful contenders in the Open event sponsored by Irwin M&E Ltd.

Just shy of 200 players crammed onto the Cathedral City fairways, all intent on eventually emerging from battle in possession of the beautiful Tyrone Crystal replica of the course's landmark monument, which was created in the club's 100th year in 1993.

And when the scores were collated, a highly competitive Obelisk leaderboard showed at its summit Natty McGeown, whose wonderful nett 63 meant he would take home the ornamental spoils.

McGeown reached the turn in a mere 37 hits after an untroubled outward nine of three bogeys and half-a-dozen pars. Similar serenity would follow on the way home, where the neat-and-tidiness of four pars and four bogeys was upset only by the pleasant interruption of a birdie at the 15th.

The resulting superb gross 76 earned Natty a new handicap of 11 and rendered him a delighted recipient of the Obelisk Trophy, which he collected at a Saturday evening prize-giving alongside Alexandra Mawhinney, winner of the Ladies' equivalent tournament.

“Players should play at a good pace ... It is a group's responsibility to keep up with the group in front.”

“‘Ready golf' is a commonly used term which indicates that players should play when they are ready to do so, rather than adhering strictly to the ‘farthest from the hole plays first' stipulation in the Rules of Golf ... there is strong evidence to suggest that playing ‘ready golf' does improve the pace of play.”

As regards pre-shot routines, “Did you know that if each player in a four-ball takes 5 seconds less to play each shot, the round time can be improved by over 25 minutes?”.

To enhance the enjoyment of all, CAGC encourages its members to be mindful of their pace of play and to feel free to play ‘ready golf'.

County Armagh Golf Club's Ladies and Gents Open Stableford event on 12 August was sponsored by Gaffney Estate Agent and saw Rita Mone and Mark Frazer take up residency in the winners' enclosure.

Rita's remarkable 44-point scorecard showed a fantastic front nine of five bogeys and four pars, and then a birdie at the 15th that nestled nicely among seven further homeward bogeys. Rita was granted a new handicap of 18 as well as the Sunday honours on account of this splendid performance.

Rita Mone, winner of the Ladies' Gaffney Estate Agents Open Stableford competition, is presented with her prize by Gerry Gaffney. Also pictured are County Armagh Golf Club Captain, Colm Shannon, Lady Captain, Elizabeth Mawhinney, and second- and third-placed players, Una Cullinane and Alexandra Mawhinney.

Mark Frazer, winner of the Men's Gaffney Estate Agents Open Stableford competition, is presented with his prize by Gerry Gaffney. Also pictured are County Armagh Golf Club Captain, Colm Shannon, Lady Captain, Elizabeth Mawhinney, and other prizewinners Conor McGuigan and Philip Devlin.

The Open Family Greensomes competition at County Armagh Golf Club on Sunday 5 August was won by husband-and-wife team, Sheila and Denis Hughes. Runners-up were brotherly pair Martin and Kieran Grimley, while father-and-son combo, Declan and Caolan McReynolds, grabbed third place.

Niamh Grimley and Claire Garvey from MG Accounants, sponsors of the Open Family Greensomes competition at County Armagh Golf Club, award prizes to Declan McReynolds, Kieran Grimley and Club Captain, Colm Shannon.

The day's gross prize was secured by Club Captain, Colm Shannon and his son, Mark.